Ecological humidity controller

ABSTRACT

A rotating body installed between a motor fixed to the top of a fixed plate and a bent section at one end of a column. Blades are formed on the upper and lower ends of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body, wherein a spongy body for humidification is located at each of the blades, a connecting body formed of a permanent magnet for coupling is coupled to one surface of the blade, and a cartridge having multiple fine holes formed there through is coupled to the other surface of the blade. The cartridge may be supplied with fluid through an end portion of a hose. The retained water is sprayed through the fine holes or moisture in the air is absorbed into the spongy body by replacing the spongy body accommodated in the cartridge with a dehumidifying agent according to necessity and rotating the motor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage Patent Application of PCT International Patent Application No. PCT/KR2015/010463 (filed on Oct. 2, 2015) under 35 U.S.C. §371, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0135235 (filed on Oct. 7, 2014), which are all hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention is provided to control humidity affecting the indoor environment in order to improve living conditions and contribute to industrial development and particularly to create indoor air suitable for plants or livestock as well as humans depending on humidity and dryness of indoor air.

Conventionally, in order to improve the atmosphere in a room, steam heating has been used to solve dryness of indoor air. In order to do so, fine moisture particles are generated by an anion generator or by using ultrasonic waves or high-frequency waves and then sprayed. Further, if an excessive moisture content is detected from indoor air, an absorbent material such as natural charcoal or high-priced silica gel (calcium chloride) has been used, which can be seen from the patent publications around the world.

Meanwhile, if indoor air is high in temperature, a cooler such as an air conditioner equipped with a compressor may be used. In this case, the air is absorbed using fans and allowed to pass through a cooling system, so that water particles in the air are cooled down to be equal to or lower than the “dew point” and turned into water. Therefore, a mechanical method of collecting and discharging the water has been used, which results in problems of the use of excessive space for accommodating the apparatus, high electrical energy cost, and high purchase cost.

SUMMARY

The present invention is conceived to solve the above-described problems and provides a method and an apparatus for solving the problems as the result of hard work over many years. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for supplying optimum moisture and natural breeze for human life.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is achieved under the premise that an apparatus needs to be clearly effective, simple in structure and easy to use without posing economic burden to consumers. In order to achieve the present invention, a “motor” and a column fixed thereto are installed on a fixed plate fixed to the bottom, a “rotation shaft” is installed through a “bearing between a rotation shaft of the motor fixed to a bottom plate by folding an end portion of the column and the folded end portion”, and blades are installed in two upper and lower stages on an outer surface of the “rotation shaft”. As for a helicopter, propellers are connected in two stages with different angles to a rotation shaft of the helicopter. Thus, as the length of the connected propeller is increased, buoyancy is increased, so that air is pulled and the helicopter can fly in the air. Likewise, in the present invention, rotor blades are coupled to a cartridge (container) with a connecting body formed of a permanent magnet with female and male, i.e., N and S poles and a plurality of fine holes is perforated through the other end (outer surface) of the cartridge and can be freely attached to or detached from the blades on the rotation shaft. Therefore, according to necessity, it is necessary to symmetrically install a pair of upper and lower cartridges with different angles in every direction (90 degrees in the drawing). This is to adjust balance of rotatory power. Although the blades are described as being installed in two upper and lower stages in the present invention, the blades may be installed in three upper, middle, and lower stages or multiple stages on an outer peripheral surface of a rotating body so as to connect and accommodate the cartridges. Further, the cartridge is configured to accommodate therein a spongy body such as wet cotton wool or spongy or a material such as porous “zeolite” unharmful to humans.

With this configuration, in case of a spongy body with a little water or in a dry state, if the motor is rotated while external fluid such as water is supplied from an upper part of the cartridge, a fluid vortex is generated in indoor air and the fluid retained in the spongy body accommodated in the cartridge is sprayed and diffused in all directions (360 degrees) by centrifugal force to the outside of the apparatus through the plurality of fine holes perforated in one surface of the cartridge so as to supply an appropriate amount of moisture to the indoor air in a dry state.

On the contrary, in a state where a dry spongy body, e.g., dry cotton wool, highly hygroscopic charcoal or silica gel, or dry zeolite is accommodated in the cartridge, if the motor is rotated without supplying fluid such as water from above, moisture dispersed and saturated in the air is absorbed. However, in this case, since the cartridge can be attached to or detached from the blade, if the cartridge is coupled to the blade by slightly slanting an opening in order for the spongy body accommodated in the cartridge to be directed toward a rotation direction of the rotating body, a contact surface between the spongy body accommodated in the cartridge and moisture in an indoor space is increased at the same time as rotation. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the effect of easily absorbing moisture particles in the air absorbed to the spongy body in the cartridge being rotated.

Further, when the indoor air has a high humidity and a high temperature, if frozen ice or dry ice is accommodated in any one end of the cartridge, cool air can be supplied to the indoor space. In this case, it can be confirmed that a distance from the cartridge coupled to the blade, i.e., a length of the connecting body, greatly affects humidification and moisture absorption.

Furthermore, if the present invention is used in a barn such as a henhouse or a pigsty, a bit of plant-growth promoter or pest control medicine is added to fluid such as water being supplied or may be separately supplied.

As described above, according to the present invention, a single apparatus can perform a humidification or dehumidification function, and if this apparatus is used in a living space of humans, used to grow plants in a vinyl greenhouse, or installed in a livestock production facility such as a henhouse or a pigsty, it is possible to achieve a double or triple effect such as simplification of an apparatus and simplification in control as well as dehumidification and humidification. Accordingly, the present invention is economical and can be cheaply supplied to the industry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment provided to explain the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a cartridge;

FIG. 4 is a partial transverse cross-sectional view provided to explain an operation state of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view provided to explain a second exemplary embodiment the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial transverse cross-sectional view as viewed from the top of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view provided to explain a modified cartridge; and

FIG. 8 is a partial transverse cross-sectional view provided to explain an operation of the second exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to exemplary embodiments, but is not limited thereto. Various modifications and designs within the scope of the claims are included in the right scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment provided to explain the present invention, and illustrates that a rotation shaft 300 is installed between a motor 800 fixed on a bottom plate 30 fixed to the bottom through a splash plate 100 and a bent section 201 of a column 200 and blades 500 are formed in front and back of an upper end of an outer wall surface of the rotating shaft 300 and blades 500 are formed on the left and right of a lower end with different angles from the blades at the upper end, so that cartridges 400 and 400′are respectively coupled and fixed to the blades 500 at the upper and lower ends by connecting bodies 402 formed of permanent magnets.

A drainage hole in the splash plate 100 is a typical one and thus is not illustrated herein for convenience.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are provided to explain a configuration of the present invention in detail. As illustrated in a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view in FIG. 2, both ends of the rotation shaft 300 are supported by bearings 80, and the rotation shaft 300 is installed between a shaft 20 of the motor 800 and the bent section 201 of the column 200 so as to be rotatable along a rotation direction F of the motor 800 and also connected and fixed to the bottom plate 30 which can be fixed to the bottom in a room. Further, the rotation shaft 300 is illustrated as having a rectangular body in the drawings. However, even if the rotation shaft 300 has a cylindrical shape or a polygonal shape, it does not make any difference to the present invention. Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the cartridges 400 and 400′ connected to the blades 500 installed in upper and lower stages on an outer peripheral surface of the rotation shaft 300 may be coupled and fixed to the blades 500 installed on the rotation shaft 300 with a distance by the several (in the drawing, four) connecting bodies 402 formed of permanent magnets with N and S poles, or may be apart therefrom, which shows that it is possible to freely attach or detach the cartridges 400 and 400′ and also possible to differently set an angle. Further, FIG. 3 shows that a plurality of fine holes 401 is perforated in outer surfaces of the cartridges 400 and 400′. Meanwhile, a hose 600 formed of natural rubber or synthetic resin is built in the column 200, so that fluid such as water can be supplied from a non-illustrated external water supply device, e.g., tap water or a water tank, or a linger which may be installed above the present apparatus. Thus, moisture is supplied to spongy bodies 403 accommodated in the upper cartridge 400 and the lower cartridge 400′ through an end portion 601 of the hose 600 in order for the spongy bodies 403 to continuously retain moisture. These various operations can be manually controlled or optionally controlled by a non-illustrated external controller. The supply of power to the motor 800 by a conducting wire 70 or adjustment of the amount of water to be supplied through the hose 600 upon detection of humidity in a living room are well known in the art. Thus, an explanation thereof will be omitted for brevity of the specification.

In the present invention including the above-described components, if power is supplied to the motor 800 through the conducting wire 70 by the non-illustrated external controller, the motor 800 is rotated in the direction F and the cartridge 400 coupled to the blade 500 installed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotation shaft 300 and the cartridge 400′ installed under the cartridge 400 are also rotated in the rotation direction F as illustrated in FIG. 4. Therefore, water retained in the spongy bodies 403 such as wet cotton wool, spongy, or porous zeolite accommodated in the cartridges 400 and 400′ are divided into a plurality of particles by centrifugal force caused by rotatory power of the rotating body and divided and sprayed in all directions through the plurality of fine holes 401 perforated in the cartridges 400 and 400′. At the same time, a fluid vortex is generated in indoor air along the cartridge 400 rotated with the rotating body 300 and flows in the rotation direction F of the rotating body 300. Thus, the water particles divided and sprayed to the outside of the fine holes 401 of the cartridges 400 and 400′ automatically flow in the direction F along air flowing in the room. Therefore, the water particles can be carried in the indoor air to all corners of the room, so that humidity of the room can be adjusted.

The size and amount of the sprayed water particles can be checked by adjusting a rotation speed of the rotating body 300 rotated in response to an instruction of the non-illustrated controller and a length of the connecting bodies 402 that determine a distance between the blades 500 and the cartridges 400 and 400′. Further, this can be supplied by controlling the amount of water to be supplied from a vertex of the column 200 to the spongy bodies 403 accommodated in the cartridges 400 and 400′ positioned under the vertex of the column 200 through the end portion 601 of the hose 600 and thus can be continuously performed under the control of the non-illustrated controller. According to necessity, a bit of medicine such as pest control medicine may be added and supplied at the same time as the supply of water. Therefore, it is possible to provide humidity suitable for humans to live on to the living room in a dry state.

The cartridges have been described as being installed in two upper and lower stages on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 300. However, according to necessity, the cartridges may be installed in three or more stages. FIG. 5 is a perspective view provided to explain a second exemplary embodiment. Unlike FIG. 1, FIG. 5 illustrates that the cartridges 400 and 400′ coupled to the blades 500 are slanted. When the humidity of the room is increased to be above the standard, for example, under an environment with a high humidity such as humid summer season, the cartridges 400 and 400′ coupled to the blades 500 of the rotating body 300 by the connecting bodies 402 formed of permanent magnets are slantly positioned as illustrated in the drawing, and unlike the first exemplary embodiment, the cartridges 400 and 400′ accommodate therein the spongy bodies 403 such as natural charcoal or hygroscopic silica gel or dry cotton wool, so that when the cartridges 400 and 400′ are rotated in the rotation F along the rotation direction F of the rotating body 300 (see FIG. 6), indoor air heavy with moisture has a large area in direct contact with the hygroscopic spongy bodies 403 accommodated in the cartridges 400 and 400′. Therefore, moisture in the air can be easily absorbed by the spongy bodies 403. In this case, the spongy bodies 403 accommodated in the cartridges 400 and 400′ in direct contact with the air is applied with a pressure so as to be in direct contact with the air heavy with moisture while being rotated. Thus, the spongy bodies 403 accommodated in the cartridges do not scatter or deviate from the container. Therefore, a separate means for suppressing deviation is not needed, so that the apparatus can be simplified. Further, in case of dehumidification, supply of fluid such as moisture through the hose is stopped.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, the cartridge is illustrated as having a rectangular box shape. However, as illustrated in FIG. 7, if a lateral surface in which the fine holes 401 are perforated has an oval shape, a distance between the upper cartridge 400 and the lower cartridge 400′ with a different angle is decreased as viewed from the top as shown in FIG. 8. Therefore, loss of fluid to be supplied from the end portion 601 of the hose 600 can be minimized, and, thus, the amount of water drops falling to the splash plate 100 can be reduced.

As described above, the present invention is explained focusing on humidity of a living room. However, if the apparatus is used as being installed on a reciprocating rail at the bottom or ceiling of a vinyl greenhouse or a barn such as a henhouse or a pigsty, water may be supplied for humidification or a vortex may be generated in indoor air by cartridges coupled to blades of a rotating body for dehumidification. Therefore, it is easy to uniformly spray moisture to an indoor space along an air flow or perform a dehumidification function.

Further, in the present invention, the upper and lower cartridges have been described. The cartridges may also be installed in three or more stages. In a very hot summer season, any one of the upper and lower cartridges may accommodate a humidifying agent or a dehumidifying agent and the other cartridge may accommodate frozen ice or dry ice, so that while the rotating body is rotated, icy breeze is generated. Thus, fresh and icy breeze can be supplied to corners of a room.

As described above, according to the present invention, a single apparatus can perform humidification and dehumidification functions and can contribute to cooling of indoor air. Further, there are provided a method and an apparatus which can be usefully used in a living space and a barn. Since the apparatus is simplified, miniaturized, and weight-lightened, the present invention is economical and can be industrially produced and supplied and usefully used. 

1. A method of controlling humidity, comprising: installing a rotation shaft including blades to be coupled to several cartridges on its peripheral surface between a rotation shaft of a motor connected and fixed to a bottom plate and a bent section of a column connected to the bottom plate; connecting the cartridges accommodating therein a spongy body and including one surface including a plurality of fine holes and the other surface coupled by connecting bodies formed of several permanent magnets to the blades in several stages with different angles on an outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft; and supplying fluid such as water from an upper part of the column.
 2. The method of controlling humidity of claim 1, wherein the spongy body is one of cotton wool, spongy, or porous zeolite.
 3. The method of controlling humidity of claim 1, wherein connecting bodies for coupling installed in one surface of the cartridge have N and S poles so as to be attached to or detached from the blades of the rotation shaft with a certain angle.
 4. The method of controlling humidity of claim 1, wherein one surface of the cartridge has an oval shape in which a plurality of fine holes is perforated.
 5. The method of controlling humidity of claim 1, wherein a distance between the blade and the cartridge is adjusted using a length of the connecting body.
 6. The method of controlling humidity of claim 1, wherein the spongy body accommodated in the cartridge is frozen ice or dry ice.
 7. A humidity controller, wherein a rotation shaft is supported by bearing between a shaft of a motor fixed to a bottom plate and an end surface of a column; blades are installed in upper and lower stages with different angles on an outer peripheral surface of the rotation shaft and cartridges including connecting bodies for coupling are configured to be attached to or detached from the blades; and a hose is built in the column and fluid such as water is supplied to the cartridges through an end portion of the hose.
 8. The humidity controller of claim 7, wherein spongy bodies accommodated in the cartridges are changed in position to be directed toward a rotation direction F of the rotating body and fixed to the blades installed in upper and lower stages on the rotating body. 